"Done." Hung Zhen replied, "Now, show me your allegiance.
Huo Feng, still between the two shadow servants, tried to look for any exits. There were many.
But he was too slow, and far too weak.
The shadow servants would be on him before he had run 3 steps.
And then, he still had to escape Hung Zhen.
He fell to one knee. Then the other.
Huo Feng's lips trembled, and his eyes burned from the tears. 'As long as they both die, then this doesn't matter.'
His shoulders shook as he blinked his eyelids, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. His gaze found the Jiang Ling sword. His one hope. For as long as he had it, he still had a chance.
'As long as I have this, then what is a little submission now? One day, I'll grow strong enough to not have to listen anymore.'
Seeing this, Zhen took a step down from the platform, and his cousin, Feng, screamed out, "No!" And ran towards Huo Feng with his servant.
It was the peasant.
The one that had started all this.
He couldn't let this happen. Not when the future leadership of the Hung clan was on the line…and his head.
Zhen's shadow servant stepped in to stop Lee, whipping out a long, thin shortsword, triangular at the hilt and sharpening to a point.
Neither Lee nor his shadow servant dared to move past him. Not while they were unarmed.
Lee took out a sword, and his servant took out the same type of weapon as Zhen's servant, positioning himself between his master and Zhen's servant.
There was no need for words, the fight began.
Suddenly, light blazed in Zhen's eyes, the cords on his calf and legs tightened— Jade Tiger Feet, One Step To Cross The Earth.
And he moved.
At first, no faster than a man descending the stairs.
Yet, with each step, he sped up, till he was a white blur.
Before his cousin could take more than two steps, he was directly in front of Huo Feng.
The wind billowed around him, as if praising his regal majesty, and his robes wafted in the air along with his hair, like banners of war.
Zhen took out a small bowl from his inner garments and a small dagger. It had elaborate inscriptions on the blade and handle. And they started to glow as he infused his qi into it.
The dagger enlarged. In an instant, it was longer by the length of a small finger. "Li Dong, keep them at bay."
Li Dong, his shadow servant, responded, moving back towards Zhen and standing between him and their opponents.
Hung Lee, fearing for what would happen if his cousin was able to get Huo Feng to give him his allegiance, immediately took out a few talismans, throwing them at his cousin's shadow servant, and commanding his own shadow servant to attack Li Dong.
As this happened, Zhen stood there undisturbed, the bowl in his left hand and the knife in his right. "Swear by the Skies and repeat after me, countless eyes, a thousand hearing ears, witness, and punish any bond breaker."
Huo Feng repeated it, tears falling from his eyes. No matter how he tried to calm himself, he still kept crying. He did not know why.
"I, Hung Zhen, enter into this chaining with the one bonded with the Jiang Ling sword, Huo Feng, I as master, and he as servant."
The whole area turned dark. Qi flooded the air. Oppressive and dark.
Zhen nicked his wrist with the knife, allowing only a small drop of blood to come out and into the bowl before the wound closed.
Now, Huo Feng, who was kneeling, did the same thing, "I, Huo Feng, enter into this chaining with the one bonded with Hung Zhen, I as servant, and he as master."
And both said at the same time, "Skies, bear witness." Huo Feng, Hung Lee, and his shadow servant both fell to the ground, their faces kissing the earth. They were too weak.
The next moment, it was gone. Huo Feng had given him his allegiance.
"Hung Zhen, you piglet in robes, you…mongrel filth…you…I'll make sure Grandfather hears of this!"
Without even looking at his cousin, Zhen turned to Li Dong, "Stop them."
But Lee had expected that, having left his shadow servant at the scene to buy himself some time.
The fight between the two shadow servants lasted only a few seconds, but that was enough.
"Damn the Skies. He's too far. Come back."
Li Dong turned around, already a few metres away. When he got near, Zhen asked, "When is Grandfather coming back?"
The shadow servant answered, "Three weeks."
"Curses."
Zhen turned to Huo Feng, already walking away, "Stand up, you'll get your chance to kill that mortal lord in three weeks. We have to prepare."
#####################################################################
I grabbed her by the arms. "Are you sure you have something?"
Yao Po tried to pull herself away, "Khan, release me!"
Looking down, I noticed I had charged up to her and grabbed her in my excitement. I instantly let her free, "I'm sorry, I just…the mention of a potion that could help me…"
She rubbed her arms and glared at me, "If you want help, you'd better stop being so excitable."
"Yes healer."
*Hmph* "The potion will only make you more aware. But it will make you more aware of absolutely everything."
Yao grabbed some herbs from a cupboard, "It will be like torture."
'Torture?' I paused. Was this worth it? I almost laughed. 'Of course it is.' I had come too far to give up now. Should I stay in the claws of Wan Cheng? What about my promise to my father?
"I don't mind the pain. Are you sure it will help?"
She looked at me, her lips slightly parted, "Yes, it'll help, Khan, but you'll have to bear through the constant pain first. It'll be like slowly burning your skin, getting worse as time goes on. Even after the focus effects wear off, the pain will stay for an extra four hours."
Silently, I swallowed, "Then, go ahead." Out of the scope of Yao Po's eyes, I clenched my fist. I'd made up my mind, but the thought of going through that pain caused me to hesitate. That's why I answered so quickly.
I didn't want to give myself the chance to think it through. Yao Po sighed, "If that's what you want, Khan," she put the herbs she had taken into a pot and started adding things I couldn't even name.
"Make sure you only take it if you are sure you need to. The pain isn't something just anyone can handle."
I nodded, but in my head, I was trying my best to empty all my thoughts, they would only make me hesitant.
When she was done, I stared at the potion. 'This could be the key to my whole future.' I carried the potion and left, going immediately towards Lady Vespara's mansion. Halfway there, I realised I had already spent my two hours for the day.
I would have to come back tomorrow.
###
Every step I took sent me seven paces. I was out of breath, but I didn't mind.
I wanted to be at Lady Vespara's mansion as soon as possible. When I saw the guards, I didn't even greet them, the only thing that slowed me down was the light smattering of ice on the dirt as I ran.
At the doors of the library, the same short lady stood there, "You better remember the ru–"
"Just open the door." I wasn't in the mood to be polite, especially not when she hadn't been so to me.
She looked at me, appalled, "You best learn to watch your tone–" I don't know how I looked in that moment, but when I glared at her, she immediately shut her mouth and let me in. I hadn't even taken a wash, and my hair was unkempt. Not to mention trudging through the snow.
Everything was exactly how I'd left it, she hadn't put anything back, but I tossed my annoyance aside and opened the last tome I was reading.
"...now here is how to maximise the amount of essence you can—" The page was torn out!
I pulled at my hair, almost crying out in frustration, but I had no time to waste. I immediately started flipping through the whole book.
Nothing.
There was nothing.
I got up, moving over to one of the large shelves all around me. 'There has to be something here.' I flipped through tome after tome, dust thrown in the air and starting to form a small film over the place, but I didn't care.
Suddenly, something poked me in the back. I flung into action, turning around and nearly slamming into her with my fist, but I stopped just in time when I realised who it was. The servant lady.
She smirked when she saw how frustrated I was, "You have only one hour left."
Had she waited there after saying that, I was sure I would have begged for more time. But no.
I only had 9 days left. And if I spent all my time focusing on this, I would waste too much time. What time would I use to find out about the world outside of Lunis? When would I have a chance like this again?
Not to mention, the tome had said the spirit herb would be ready on the full moon, but it didn't say which full moon. It could be months from now!
In my robes, I felt a weight. Cold like glass, and swaying from place to place as I moved through the library.
The potion!
Grabbing it, I yanked it from my innerwear. Stared at it.
I'd tried to avoid using it. No matter what I had told myself, the thought of feeling my body burn made sure the potion was far from my mind.
I uncorked it. Taking a large swig.
Immediately, I felt a cool sensation all over my body. Then one by one, all my senses awakened. I could feel tiny hairs on my ear. I could hear everything, even when I licked the inside of my mouth.
The draft in the library was starting to get cold.
Painful.
Then it started to burn.